Christopher Wray seems oblivious to the reason why people are turning on his bureau. Why do you think the FBI’s reputation is failing?
From The Wall Street Journal. FBI Director Christopher Wray began his hearing before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday by praising the bureau’s 38,000 rank-and-file personnel who protect the country “each and every day.” In doing so, he inadvertently highlighted the FBI’s real problem: the politicized few at the top.
In his testimony, Mr. Wray rightly noted that FBI agents battle child predators, fentanyl cartels, Chinese espionage, cyberattackers, gangs, foreign terrorists and human traffickers. He griped that this work is overshadowed by “the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines.”
And whose fault is that? Those “one or two” (or five or 10) probes are hardly tiny affairs, but some of the biggest scandals in FBI history, in part because of bureau actions that violated bedrock American principles. And as the hearing illuminated, those headline cases have something in common: The bad judgment and poor behavior mostly comes from the upper echelons …
Take the unprecedented August 2022 raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Steven D’Antuono, then in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, told House investigators last month that he questioned why headquarters assigned the raid to Washington—not Miami. He also voiced his concerns that no U.S. attorney was assigned to oversee the case—the usual step. …
Mr. D’Antuono intimated he and other objectors were overruled at the highest level. He worried about the bureau’s “reputational risk” from the raid and that the FBI would be left “holding the bag again.” On Wednesday, Mr. Wray dodged questions about his role, instead disputing the definition of the word “raid.” …
Or consider yet another issue that’s landed the FBI in hot water. Mr. Wray admitted Wednesday that, to his knowledge, his hardworking 38,000 had not come up with any compelling reason for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to issue his infamous 2021 memo putting targets on the backs of parents who attend school board meetings. Mr. Garland made that decision on his own, and now refuses to rescind the memo—subjecting his law enforcement troops to criticism. …
While the Wray hearing made for tedious theater, it was no substitute for testimony from actual agents—including those who have resigned in recent years in frustration—who can illuminate the real problems at the FBI. And who can help Congress develop concrete policy steps to stop abuses that keep radiating from the top down.
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(Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal. Photo Credit: Canva)